


Mortal Love

by Mere



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-03 16:21:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13344948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mere/pseuds/Mere
Summary: Because Alexander, although mortal, was Magnus’s forever love.





	Mortal Love

**Author's Note:**

> @lakumix prompted me "regarding your Malec prompt, would you write a ficlet with old/middle aged Alec? I would love to see more of that." 
> 
> Well, my dear, I did my best. 
> 
> While I’m hoping Alec will be IMMORTAL with Magnus, I had this lovely prompt and wondered how it would play out if Alec chose to stay mortal. So to that end, it is a little sad and melancholy, for no other reason that Magnus is brooding over how much time he has left with Alec. There is no character death in here, however. 
> 
> It is also a bit of a different writing style. 
> 
> Please leave kudos/comments if you liked it! 
> 
> I can be found on tumblr at [merelore](http://www.merelore.tumblr.com) where you can send me prompts/story ideas or just chat!

Age, most people say, is just a number. A number that changes with the passing of the seasons, and the turning of the world. Age, for the most part is inevitable. There are those who escape it’s effects, such as the warlocks, who are immune to aging, but not to death.  
  
Immortal.  
  
That’s what they are. They’ll live forever if they aren’t killed first. And forever is a very, very long time. It’s enough to learn more than you could ever know, see more than you could ever believe.  
  
Yet.  
  
Yet.  
  
Yet.  
  
Sometimes immortality is the bane of a warlock. As much as immortality can give, it can also take away.  
  
Love, love is the hardest thing. Love can be fleeting for immortals, but when they find true, eternal immortal love it is a rare thing.  
  
Love is also unexpected and comes in the most surprising of ways, even when someone is not looking for it. When love’s found, there are two options: fight for it, or let it go.  
  
The enemy of love can be time. As time ticks by people change, the world changes, things change. Time can be crueler than any other thing when one is immortal.  
  
Magnus had known all of this when he had fallen in love with Alexander Lightwood. He had known, even as Camille mocked them, that Alexander was mortal, that with time he would age, and would eventually die. That was what mortality was. And mortality wasn’t a state that was easily changed by the flick of a hand, or the drinking of a potion. It required either something darker, or the price, far too high. But at the time the concept of age, of time, was so far off. They were both young (or well, physically young) and full of life. Eager.  
  
Time had a strange way of sneaking up on you though in little increments so you might not notice it’s passing.  
  
It was the little things at first.  
  
Magnus noticed when Alec laughed at his slowly forming crow’s eyes. The lines that surrounded his eyes showed that age had been creeping up. Eventually Alec points out other lines on his face, and those are just the early signs.  
  
Then there was the day that Alec pulled at his dark hair and showed Magnus the white hairs. And it was at this moment that Magnus realized just how much time had passed. His gut clenched as Alec laughed about those things. To Alec it was just another part of a mortal life, but to Magnus they were the signs that his time with Alec would soon be gone.  
  
And it hurt.  
  
Oh, how it hurt.  
  
Hurt to know that Alec wouldn’t be with him for all time, to know that he would be without the love of his life, that what they had shared would be gone.  
  
He touched Alec’s cheek, and Alec smiled, his own hand brushing Magnus’s face.  
  
Alec asked, “What’s wrong?”  
  
And Magnus just smiled, shook his head and kissed Alec, “Nothing at all, nothing at all.”  
  
Alec’s brow furrowed but he didn’t contradict Magnus’s statement. Magnus wondered if Alec would notice that their time was running out, if he would say anything, but Alec seemed happy, so Magnus didn’t.  
  
Ashes to Ashes…  
  
Magnus didn’t like to think of a world without Alexander. When he talked about it with Dot and Catarina, they just smiled sadly and told him, “You knew when you met him it couldn’t last forever.” And, “Most love doesn’t last forever anyways.”  
And he had.  
  
He had known, but if he hadn’t taken the risk, he’d never have known true love. Despite everything, he had found a love he thought could have lasted forever.  
  
And that was more than worth this agony right now. He’d had great and wonderful years with Alexander, and even when he was gone, he would remember Alexander. Their love, their happiness would forever linger in Magnus’s memories. It was not something that would be forgotten.  
  
Because Alexander, although mortal, was Magnus’s forever love.  
  
His immortal love.


End file.
